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- The City of Cape Town intends to use King David Golf Club for affordable housing.
- The decision comes after the Department of Human Settlements conducted a pre-feasible study which concluded that the site could be developed for mixed-use housing.
- Housing activists have been calling for golf clubs to be developed into affordable housing.
The City of Cape Town council has passed a resolution authorising a participation process on the 10-year lease renewal of the King David Mowbray Golf Club.
The lease time frame and the introduction of a new two-year cancellation clause follow the City's identification of the site, or portions thereof, for a mixed-use development in a pre-feasibility study that was concluded last year.
The time frame will enable continued usage of the site while the City undertakes the necessary planning for substantial upgrades to municipal infrastructure to enable future development.
The City said it made it clear that it intended to pursue mixed-use development on the site, including residential development.
Mayoral committee member for economic growth James Vos said the proposed lease period enabled secure use of the site and would save costs while the City plans for substantial infrastructure upgrades to enable future mixed-use development, including road network improvements and electrical and wastewater treatment infrastructure.
"These development planning and infrastructure processes will take some time, hence the proposed 10-year lease period and the new two-year cancellation clause. In this way, the City is making clear our intent for the future," he said.
The decision comes after the Department of Human Settlements conducted a pre-feasible study in which it concluded that the site, subject to the extensive upgrade of municipal services, could be developed for mixed-use housing.
According to the document presented at the council, the City said the time frame for the necessary development planning, securing of funding and procurement of the design and building contracts for critical municipal services required was estimated to be in the order of eight to 10 years, with the total development cost at R6.7 billion.
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"With the ongoing threats of invasion of vacant City land happening across the city, it is considered critical that the land remains utilised until it is needed for development purposes," it said.
Not renewing the lease would result in the club's closure, which would be a loss to the community, impact golf tourism and a security risk to the City at a significant operational cost for an undetermined length of time.
"This is clearly not in the City's interest," it said.
The City added that the King David Mowbray Golf Club played a vital role in the community.
"Approximately 20 000 visitor rounds are played at the club each year, and this relates to approximately 5 000 visitors per year to the club," it said.
Housing activists have called for golf clubs to be developed into affordable housing.
Lobby group Ndifuna Ukwazi welcomed the City's intention to develop the prime public land for affordable homes.
"This 49.37 hectares of prime public land (about 49 rugby fields) has the potential to contribute to the transformation of our apartheid city into a more just home for all."
The group added after the lease was first signed in 1910, the City continued to renew it for more than a century.
"This essentially enabled 49.37 hectares of prime land to contribute to segregation," it added.
